Our Farewell
by Master Jesse
Summary: .:One Shot:. Are the invincible truly invincible? Or can they be felled by mere colds?


_**Our Farewell.**_

In my hands  
A legacy of memories  
I can hear you say my name  
I can almost see your smile  
Feel the warmth of your embrace  
But there is nothing but silence now  
Around the one I loved  
Is this our farewell?

- - - - - -

_I'd give my heart, I'd give my soul I'd turn it back, it's my fault._

_- - - - - - _

"Achoo!"

Kazahaya stared at Rikuo. _'Did he just sneeze?'_

"What are you staring at?"

"Nothing!"

Kazahaya went back to his task. Rikuo was acting strange. This morning he had actually woken up Kazahaya normally, a mere shaking. No shoes or alarm clocks in the ear. He was moving a lot slower too. At first Kazahaya thought he was just tired, but now he was sneezing. That can't be good. Rikuo never sneezes. He doesn't get sick. _'I didn't think he could get sick.'_

"Kazahaya, I have a request." Kakei said.

"What?" Kazahaya asked, coming out of his daze.

- - - - - -

_I'd give my heart, I'd give my soul I'd turn it back, it's my fault._

_- - - - - - _

Three hours later Rikuo was walking silently, and slowly in front of Kazahaya. They were making there way up the path on a mountain. The sign outside the park where the glorified hill was located said it was a mountain. It was too small to be a mountain. They were slowly getting to the top, but the path stopped.

They still weren't where Kakei told them the tree would be. It was further up, almost to the top. Kazahaya started to climb up the steep incline and Rikuo slowly followed. He had started sniffling when they started up the 'mountain', and hadn't stopped. Kazahaya was fighting back the urge to laugh.

Kazahaya looked up and saw the tree they were after. He turned to Rikuo to tell him he'd found it. Rikuo was glaring up at him. He looked pale, angry and pale.

"What?"

"You keep kicking dirt in my face."

"Sorry!"

"That the tree?"

"Yea."

Rikuo started climbing up the slope. The tree was standing on a flat part of the slope. The boys looked up at it. There was no way they could do this job. Kakei had told them to gather one leaf of every color. Even though it was spring, the trees leaves were multicolored. At the bottom were deep dark green leaves, and above that were multiple shades of green, then a golden brown color and finally at the top was a single bright yellow leaf.

"One of every color!" Kazahaya exclaimed.

"Yeah," Rikuo responded with a nasally voice. "The yellow one is the most important."

Kazahaya bit back his laughter and started up the tree.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting the leaves."

"You're going to hurt-" before Rikuo could say anymore a giant sneeze erupted from him.

"You're sick. If you do anything more you might make it worse."

"Nothing could be worse than this." Rikuo mumbled as Kazahaya started up the tree. A smile spread across Kazahaya's face. _'Maybe I can even take care of him for once.'_

Rikuo stood bent over at the bottom of the tree. He rubbed his temples, trying desperately to make the pounding in his head to stop. The night before he had gone to sleep with a small head ache and overnight it had transformed into a monster cold. Working all day, then the trek up the mountain had made it worse.Rikuo wanted to sit down, but if he did and Kazahaya fell out of the tree, he would never forgive himself. He looked up into the tree and the world spun.It seemed obvious that if Rikuo didn't rest soon, it would be _Kazahaya_ carrying _Rikuo_ home.

At that moment Kazahaya shouted down to Rikuo that he had gotten the yellow leaf.

"THEN GET DOWN HERE!" Rikuo shouted up. He wanted to sit down. His head was getting more and more stuffed up. It felt like it was going to fall off at any moment now.

After sticking the last leaf into his pocket, Kazahaya started to climb carefully down the tree. He was just about to hop out of the tree when a branch broke. Kazahaya was sent flailing through the air. Rikuo grabbed Kazahaya before he sailed over the edge. He pushed Kazahaya onto the flat land, but as he did, Rikuo's foot slipped and he fell backwards down the incline.

- - - - - -

_I'd give my heart, I'd give my soul I'd turn it back, it's my fault._

_- - - - - - _

Kazahaya turned to see him tumbling, much like a rag doll, to the bottom of the hill. Kazahaya started down the slope as fast as he could, but careful not to fall. Both of them hurt would not be good. Rikuo didn't stop rolling until he hit a tree at the bottom of the mountain.

Kazahaya reached the bottom of the hill. Rikuo was lying next to a tree. Kazahaya stared at Rikuo, his feet planted in the ground. He cocked his head to the side. _'Are necks supposed to bend that way?' _

Slowly Kazahaya realized what was going on. He sunk down to the ground next to Rikuo and started to push on him. _'He has a cold... that's it he's just really tired, so he's asleep... he's going to wake up and glare at me like always.'_

Kazahaya started to push harder and harder when he stopped he was shaking. He started crying on Rikuo, calling for him to wake up, to glare at him, make fun of him, anything, just for him to wake up.

The tears inside Kazahaya stopped and he sat up. He took out his phone and dialed Green Drugstore. Saiga cheerful voice dropped out when Kazahaya whispered Rikuo's fate. After some silence Kakei took over the phone. He told Kazahaya to stay on with him, that Saiga was on his way. Kazahaya was silent as Kakei talked to him, only talking to answer questions quietly. The whole time he held Rikuo's hand in his. Still hoping that he would stop playing this cruel joke on him.

- - - - - -

_I'd give my heart, I'd give my soul I'd turn it back, it's my fault._

_- - - - - - _

A few men in uniforms showed up and asked quietly if Kazahaya could move. Kazahaya sat silent next to Rikuo, still holding his hand. After a while the men stepped back. Saiga ran up to Kazahaya, who just stared blankly at him.

"Kazahaya?" Saiga asked.

When there wasn't a response he took the phone from Kazahaya's hand and told Kakei they would be at the hospital in a little while and hung up. Saiga pulled Rikuo's hand out of Kazahaya's and led Kazahaya to the street where and ambulance was waiting. The men followed after them carrying the taller boy.

Kazahaya sat at the curb as they loaded his roommate into the ambulance. Saiga pushed him lightly into a cab that was waiting behind the ambulance. They followed the silent ambulance to the hospital.

Kakei was waiting at the entrance. He had a concerned look on his face. He was not concerned for Rikuo, he was in a place where there was no need for concern, but for Kazahaya. He wondered if Kazahaya's fragile psyche had finally broken.

- - - - - -

_I'd give my heart, I'd give my soul I'd turn it back, it's my fault._

_- - - - - - _

Several weeks later Kazahaya was sitting outside the mausoleum where Rikuo's ashes were. The day before Kakei had asked him if he wanted to go with Saiga and himself. He hadn't gone. He wanted to go, but he didn't know how he would react. It had taken nearly a week for him to get even a fraction of his old self back. He hadn't eaten or talked at all that week. Only Kakei's forceful suggestions to drink water had made him do that.

He was broken up over the loss of his friend. _'It is odd how the loss of something can make you see the truth in things.'_ He hadn't hated him, Rikuo had been his friend. Probably the only friend he had ever had.

Kazahaya's nerve broke and he left the cemetery without entering the room. He got back to the drug store and Kakei greeted him with false happiness. Kazahaya started his work. He stacked products, pointed customers in the right direction, and tried desperately to not look back, because he was still expecting to see a glare or a smirk facing him. Work ended and Kakei asked Kazahaya if he wanted to go to dinner with him and Saiga, but Kazahaya turned him down.

Kazahaya went up to the apartment. He went to his bed and fell back onto the pillow. A little voice rang out in his head. _'You wanted to live alone.' _Those words rang over and over in his mind. It was true. He _had_ wanted to live alone. That was the whole reason he took the extra jobs, the jobs that Rikuo had always been forced to go on.

Kazahaya stared at his hands. It was his fault. All his fault. He had caused him to die. Because he had wanted to live on his own, and he wouldn't take no for an answer. If he had heeded Rikuo's warnings that the jobs Kakei sent them on were not safe, he would be alive.

At first Kazahaya had blamed Kakei for not seeing what was going to happen and keep them from going. Kakei had told him, quite calmly, that Rikuo's fall was not supposed to happen. Saiga said that since he was sick, and weaker than normal, at the moment Rikuo caught him, he had given into the call from his body to rest, and he collapsed. Although they had meant to comfort Kazahaya, it had only made him believe even more that he was the reason Rikuo was...

- - - - - -

_I'd give my heart, I'd give my soul I'd turn it back, it's my fault._

_- - - - - - _

Kazahaya stared blankly up into the ceiling. He made his way to Rikuo's room and flopped onto the bed. He pulled the covers up over him and snuggled into Rikuo's pillows. Kazahaya snuggled deeper into the bed and started to fall asleep.

A slight memory of Rikuo rolled into his mind. His own memories now affected him like others did. He rolled off the bed and started for the door. His need for sleep gone. He had to do this. Now.

He started down the street to the cemetery. He had hesitated earlier at opening the door to the mausoleum, now he had no problem. No memory could harm him as much as his own haunting memories and emotions. He stepped through the door.

The emotions he had bottled up inside came spilling out. Kazahaya threw himself to the ground below the plaque and screamed until his voice grew weary.

"WHY! Why did you die? I still need you! I miss you so much. Please, just come back to me. Don't leave me alone."

A light breeze started and Kazahaya turned to the door. Kakei and Saiga were standing in the doorway. Kazahaya hugged himself and whispered to the floor.

"I love you. Rikuo, you'll be with me forever." He placed a hand on the plaque and stood up.

Kazahaya stood up and joined the pair at the door. With one last look to the plaque he walked out into the night. Rubbing his hand softly.

- - - - - -

_I'd give my heart, I'd give my soul I'd turn it back, it's my fault._

_- - - - - - _

This little idea was positively the most annoying of any I've had. I was so happy reading LD fanfics and it decides to pop in and distract me...

There seem to have been a lot of tree fics, but it was the only job that could work. So... yea.

This is my first one shot. So I hope you like it.

Reviews and such are GREAT! I love them. If you like it, if you hate it. Just tell me. Thanks.

The buffer is a line from Jillian by Within Temptation.

The title and lyrics at the top are froma song by Within Temptation.


End file.
